Paulie's FZ-07 SP: MotoGP Edition

[gregjet]

Lucky lucky.......

[scordiaboy515]

Awesome dude!......rear sets are badass....you will love the Pirelli's, I've been running  take-offs all summer,  very confidence inspiring. How much did the rear sets cost?
 

[pgeldz]

@gremlin , I went with a 520 conversion - DID ERV3 chain, Renthal stock sized sprocket up front, and Vortex steel sprocket (+2 teeth) out back).
 
@scordiaboy , the rearsets are $430 but I have some contacts that got me a deal on them.
 
 
So, the last track day weekend of the season went very well, although I didn't ride as much as I wanted to because of the weather (It was COLD!).
 
I'll go into that in a minute, but wanted to give my thoughts on the new parts recently fitted.
 
TIRES: Made the switch from Dunlop Q3's to Pirelli SuperCorsa SP's. Both are street tires and in the same category (i.e., the best street tires available for street AND track duty). I loved the Dunlops, and they are about $100 cheaper per set than the Pirelli's. Having said that I am going to make the move to Pirelli race tires next season with tire warmers and figured a good way to ease into the Pirelli's was to try their top of the line street tire because it's characteristics are similar to the race tire, in that the tire overall is more compliant than the Dunlop, and also the profile is much more pointier than the rounded Dunlop. The Pirelli's are NOTICEABLY lighter than the Dunlops too. On the track, it did feel more compliant, but without any squirming. Took me a lap or too to get the feel of them, and then it was pretty much the same as the Dunlop - kung fu grip everywhere. Turn in required a little less effort than the Dunlop due to the pointer profile, but overall I'd be hard pressed to pic a winner - they are both excellent tires for our bikes.
 
GRIPS: It's all personal preference, but the Domino XM2 "Super Soft" grips are the bees knees. Their billed as super soft, but in reality they are somewhere between the thin hard type grips and the thicker soft gel type grips. Very comfortable and not squishy at all like some of the other soft grips out there. Many color combos available to choose from to personalize your bike. Best grips I've eve used.
 
HANDLEBARS: Wanted to try Woodcraft's offering (1.5 risers in the down position) because I had a hunch they would be slightly lower than the Suburban Machinery bars...and I was right! They are in fact lower, about 1/2 inch to an inch lower, depending on how you have the Suburban Machinery bars rotated in the clamps. Either way, they are lower. and they don't interfere with anything at full lock in either direction, although when your gripping them your thumbs WILL contact the tank plastic at full lock. I don't see that being an issue at all though, since I'm never at full lock anyway when riding - maybe when I'm off the bike walking it around the garage, but in that case, I'll put my thumbs on top The Woodcrafts are way, way lighter than the Suburban Machinery bars, yet I don't feel any vibration coming through at all. They come with plastic bar ends, but I took them off and installed a set of Woodraft bar end sliders since they are a little beefier. I didn't really like the way they looked in pictures, but installed, look awesome in person. I liked the Suburban Machinery bars being stainless steel because they matched the forks nicely, but the all-Black Woodcrafts make the Green part of the Domino grips "pop" and look incredible. As far as sweep, width, and angle, they are pretty much identical to the Suburban Machinery bars. If I closed my eyes and sat on identical bikes, one with the Suburban Machinery bars and one with the Woodcrafts, I wouldn't be able to tell a difference, provided you didn't rotate the Suburban Machinery bars in some weird unnatural position within the clamps. You WOULD be able to tell a difference in the lightness though. If I accelerate in first gear 'briskly', the front end will lift, where before if I wanted to wheelie on motor alone, I'd have to accelerate, chop the throttle to compress the front end and then open the throttle back up when the forks are decompressing. Not so now. Aggressive starts in first with no clutch send the front end skyward in a perfectly controlled lift. It feels like when I used to have a shorter wheelbase after my sprocket change, even though I added a link to increase my wheelbase for stability on the track. Keep in mind this also could be because of the tires, as the Pirelli's are noticeably lighter than the Dunlops I previously had. On the track, this combo of tires and bars makes the front end feel lighter, but not bothersome.
 
REARSETS: Because the bars are in fact lower, I wanted to change my rearsets to go up and back the same amount. I LOVE the Giles Tooling rearsets, but I had them maxed out in their adjustment range already. There are 4 other readily available rearsets on the market for the FZ-07. Each has their pros and cons for me.
 
Lightech - has two offerings, with one differentiating itself by way of Red anodized hardware, carbon bits, and SKF bearings. Both are expensive. both do not retain the brake light function, but both do have a secondary footpeg mounting system that allows removal of the footpeg without removing the entire rerset. Both have the option of folding footpegs. Looking at the installed pics, range of adjustment is good, but the highest and furthest back position looks the same as my Gilles Tooling set. Verdict - Too expensive, made in Italy so replacement parts may be hard to get, and adjustment range looks minimal to what I have...PASS
 
Woodcraft - Price is right, but I don't like the fact that they only come in silver. Retains factory brake light function. Don't like the fact that it uses the stock heal guard on the right side, and a nice billet machined guard on the opposite side. Rearward adjustment looks good, but highest position doesn't seem to be a lot higher than what I have. Folding toe peg option on offer. Verdict - Too many cons for me. Silver only, different heal guards, and highest position not too high...PASS
 
Graves - Great price, but range of adjustment minimal and way too stock looking. Silver only. Verdict - Boring...PASS
 
Driven Racing - Great price for what you get. Minimalist design, lightweight. Folding toe pegs come standard. Made in the USA so parts availability should be good. Comes in Black. Great range of adjustment, with the maxed up and back position looking to be more up and back than any other rearset currently on offer. Footpegs are not round but half moon style, so clearance at full lean is improved. Does not retain the brake light function. Verdict - These are the ones I chose, for all the reasons I just mentioned. They seem to be the most aggressive in their maxed position and seem to have the most clearance at full lean. As far as not having the brake light function, I'm not concerned because I NEVER use rear brake by itself on the street, ever, so the front brake will trigger the brake light and all is good. The only time I'd use rear brake by itself, is if I'm off the racetrack going off in the dirt or gravel, in which case my brake light is taped up anyway.
 
 
Together, the Woodcraft bars with 1.5 inch risers in the down position and the Driven Racing TT rearsets seem to offer the most aggressive riding position at this time
 
 
As far as how the track day weekend went, I'll update you guys in a bit.  Need to give my fingers a rest, lol.
 
- Paulie

[gregjet]

I had figured that the change to Pirelli from Dunlops would feel like that. Glad to have it confirmed. Dunlop started making harsh feeling tyres with the K91 in the 70's and pretty much all of it's tyres have followed the same philosophy since. I hadn't used the Q 2's or 3's but now I know. Michelins and Metzlers are more compliant than the Pirelli's I feel, if you start looking for that. Personally I feel more compliant fronts give better front grip feedback ( but not necessarily more or less grip).
It sounds like your baby is coming along just so nicely.
Funny about the rearset colour think. I quite like the uncoloured look. Pivoting pegs is a plus though. I prefer the solidness of fixed pegs, but they can be a pain to prove to scrutineers that they are breakaway.
Did you meet cresentwrench by chance?

[pgeldz]

@gregjet ,
 
I do have fixed footpegs with the Driven Racing rearsets, but they have folding toe pegs as standard.
 
I did meet @crescentwrench. She came out on Sunday and I introduced myself as she was near track entry awaiting her session to start. She did the new riders school which had them busy in the classroom in-between sessions, so I only saw her once after initial introduction when I was looking for a friend of mine who was supposed to come up from Vegas. We chatted for just a brief bit, as she was with her family. Hope she chimes in here to share her experience, but I think she had a good time. She did mention she was scraping her pegs so maybe some rearsets are in her furture
 
I'll let you know how my weekend went a little later...need to download some pics first.
 

 
- Paulie

[Mr.Puss]

  Given your experience both on and off the track, I'm under the strong impression you obviously know your stuff.  I might just have to go with your recommendation of the "Driven". (Insert mutilple thumbs up here) Thanks a bunch Paulie.
 
 Regards
 

[pgeldz]

No worries Mr.Puss
 
Glad to be of some help
 
Having said that, my Gilles Tooling rearsets will be up for sale shortly
 
- Paulie

[pgeldz]

So, the last trackday weekend at Chuckwalla was a success.  It was my first time there, so in addition to testing some new bits on the bike, I was also having to learn the track.
 
On Saturday we ran counter-clockwise, and on Sunday we ran clockwise...so it was like visiting two different tracks in one weekend.  Great for variety, but no so much for trying to learn the track.
 
It was a cold weekend, and I mean COLD.  Keep in mind I live in Vegas so 40-50 degrees has me shivering, lol.  It was so cold in the morning I wasn't sure if I even wanted to ride.  
 
It was my first time in level 3 (the fastest group), and the first session started at 9am.  Outside temps were in the low 50's and the track surface felt like ice cubes.  Since I'm on brand new tires that aren't even scrubbed in yet, I figured I'd wait until the next session as the Sun was coming up and would probably warm the track a little.  I skipped the 9am session and had the use of my buddies tire warmers for the next two sessions while it was still rather chilly out.
 
Even though I had the tire warmers, I was still tip toeing around the track...spotting lines, braking points, etc.  Honestly I never felt comfortable on the bike due to the cold weather.  I always felt in my head that it was too cold outside and I was gonna crash.  I finished the session unscathed and headed to my buddies trailer.  Had a chat with him and even he said it was dodgy out there and that his bike was moving around a bit on the cold tires.  He had warmers too, but with race tires - and after the first two laps or so the cold wind will actually cool the tires and it was hard to keep heat in them.  I always had this in the back of my mind and it was a gamble to push hard to keep heat in the tires, so I didn't take my chances and just concentrated on riding smoothly.
 
Second session at 10am went much better.  Sun was coming out, the track surface wasn't ice cold anymore, and I had the use of tire warmers again.  Rode pretty conservatively and did my best to learn the track and be as smooth as possible.  Left the GoPro and Lap Timer in the trailer.  Felt pretty comfortable at the end the of the session and had a strategy to finish out the rest of the day.  
 
I didn't have the use of tire warmers any longer so I figured I'd sit out the next session to regroup and gather my thoughts, and then on the 5th and 6th session of the day while the Sun is at it's peak and both outside temp and track temp are at their warmest go out and try some hot lapping.  I'd install the lap timer and get some reference times on the 5th session, and the 6th session see how much I could improve.
 
Since I had no idea what a decent time is on this track I asked some of the locals, one of which had one of the fully faired FZ-07 race bikes prepared by Andy Palmer of AP MotoArts.  The general consensus was that for my bike, a pretty good time would be around 2:20.  I didn't ask for skill level, or for what tires, etc...I just asked what a decent time would be for the FZ-07.
 
5th session came and I felt pretty good.  I didn't have the tire warmers, but I left my bike in the Sun and rotated it evenly to distribute the Sun's warmth.  Track wasn't cold anymore, but luke-warm to the touch.  Installed the lap timer and off I went.  Took it rather easy for the first few laps just in case, and then started to up the pace.  First few laps were in the 2:20 - 2:22 range, and the last few laps were in the 2:18's, so I felt pretty good I was on par with the local's recommendations.  This was all in 4th gear.  I wanted to concentrate on being smooth and just work on my lines so I could attack in the next session.  My reference time for the next session was 2:18.
 
Went back into the trailer and had a look at the track map.  There were several places where I could make up time I thought, so I headed into the 6th session with some clear insight on where I should push.
 
6th session came and the wind picked up quite a bit, cooling the track slightly.  Keep in mind the highest it got was in the low 60's so to me that's still "cold" territory and I was feeling a bit little uneasy.  My buddy assured me the tires would hold, even without warmers since they are street tires and meant to operate at a lower heat range.  I liked that logic so I felt pretty decent even though it was getting windy.  I took the first 3 laps to bring the tires up to temp, and figured it's the hottest part of the day so it would be the best conditions I'd experience so I decided to concentrate on the areas I thought I could make up time in.  As I worked on those areas, my pace increased enough that the other areas I was doing good in were now a problem, and started to work on those until the session ended.  Came back into the paddock and had a look a the lap timer.  Average time was in the 2:14's, with a best lap in the 2:13 range.  And the crazy thing is I *still* left it in 4th gear the entire session - didn't even shift, not even once.  I was so worried about upping the pace in the cold weather I figured I'd give myself a margin for error and leave it in a higher gear than normal.  You'd think that would hinder me, and I'm sure it did, but it allowed me to concentrate on being smoother, and the FZ's torque made leaving it in 4th a non-issue.
 
Ended Saturday on a high note, and was eager to see if I could improve on Sunday.
 
Sunday morning came and it was much colder and overcast.  Again, I skipped the first session.  The next two sessions I had the use of tire warmers like on Saturday, but the Sun never came out, and we were running the track in the opposite direction.  I took it very easy but never came to grips with the clockwise direction of the track.  I didn't feel comfortable at all.  It was very weird.  It felt familiar, but still so different, if that makes sense.  Because of this, another buddy of mine, on a Aprillia Tuono, invited me to follow him for the next session.  He's very experienced and always in the fast group so I've never actually ridden with him before on track.  We do compare lap times though, and in the past he's consistency about 5-8 seconds faster than me.
 
The session comes and he's immediately on it.  I had tire warmers and so did he, but in my head my mind still thinks I should do a few laps to get up to speed.  I knew once he leaves me I'll never see him again, so this time I just went for it - and I stayed glued to him the entire session.  I'm starting to be much more aware of my surroundings with other riders, as in, where their braking points are, where they start to pick up the throttle as compared to me, etc.  Even though his bike is a monster on the straights, I saw two distinct corners where I could get on the throttle much, much earlier do to my different lines, and on the next lap tried to pass him.  It *almost* worked.  I was able to get much better drive coming out of those corners and positioned myself right beside him on the inside line to the next corner.  I came up on him so fast I wasn't sure if he knew I was there because he started turning in on me so I backed off and let him have the corner.  I feel I could have passed him but not sure if it would have been a clean pass or not as we were so close.  Better safe than sorry
 
It was a great session and I called it quits after that.  I was going to skip the next session like I did on Saturday, and do the next 2 without tire warmers but the Sun never really came out and the track went cold.  There were a lot of Red Flags in the sessions that followed - people crashing everywhere.  Hell, in the next session I would have participated in, there were TWO Red Flags.  One was at the very start of the session when not everyone even made it on to the track yet...and right after that got cleared another crash happened 5 minutes later and the session was ended.  Kinda cemented my decision to call it quits.
 
All in all it was a great end to my first season of track riding, and look forward to putting into practice everything I've soaked up thus far into next season
 
I didn't get any video this time out, but here are a few snaps from the weekend...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
- Paulie

[pattonme]

nice writeup. cold or not, you guys eat GOOD!

[sorkyah]

Did you remove your yamaha cowl @pgeldz?
Something looks different about the bike, aside from the clip-ons and rearsets

[pgeldz]

Eh?
 
No Sir, the rear seat cowl, and the sub-cowl (belly pan) are still there
 
- Paulie

[sorkyah]

Thought you had the front fly screen too

[pgeldz]

Ok guys...
 
Over a year in the making, as promised, my 4 sale thread is finally up, LoL
 
Many parts for sale, gear for sale, new stuff, like new stuff, OEM stuff, Aftermarket stuff, hard to get stuff, free stuff, etc.
 
Please check it out here
 

 
- Paulie
 
 
 

[pgeldz]

Thought you had the front fly screen too

Just figured out why you think it might look different... 
I don't have my bar end mirrors installed in these latest pics, maybe that's why the front end looks different?
 
- Paulie

[sorkyah]

Possibly.... couldnt tell ya

[cfzd]

Hey Paulie I keep seeing your bike around the Web and the forums and every time I see it I swear the stance just looks different. How did you get that rake?

[pgeldz]

Hey Paulie I keep seeing your bike around the Web and the forums and every time I see it I swear the stance just looks different. How did you get that rake?

Funny you mention that. I looked at hundreds of race bikes to see why they look like race bikes instead of bikes with just graphics on them, and came to the conclusion that it's the stance that makes them look aggressive. Nearly all of the MotoGP and world WSBK bikes have their bodywork coming pretty close to the front tire, and many of their graphic schemes are at an upwards angle from the front fender to the rear tail section. This gives them that aggressive nose down, tail up raked look, like they are always under braking or something. 
 
That look is hard to achieve on the FZ-07.  There are two visual challenges to this approach...
 
1) There's not a lot of surface area on the FZ-07 to work with (for graphics and such).
 
2) The proportions of the FZ-07 don't lend themselves to that race bike look.
 
 
The FZ-07 has a lot of space between the radiator and the front tire when viewed from the side profile, which makes it difficult to achieve that raked look. The challenge is to visually take up this space, and make your eyes flow from the front bottom of the bike up towards the rear tail section.
 
It can be done a number of ways, either by installing items to take up that space, or use of certain colors (dark and light) to give the appearance of a raked look. I did both.
 
As far as hard parts are concerned, the lower belly pan takes up some space, and the Yamaha billet aluminum radiator guards, which, because they are straight and not curved like the factory plastic radiator guards, take up quite a bit of that empty space too.  My rear shock is slightly longer than stock, and the rear tire is slightly taller than stock which helps, but they were done for performance, not style or stance.  
 
To be honest, I think I was able to achieve this stance through design. I worked on it for months before I finally nailed it down.
 
The lines of the FZ-07's tank plastics make it hard to design around. Their angles don't exactly lend themselves to an upward sweeping motion...it's actually the exact opposite.  Most bikes have a frame to break up the tank and the bodywork...not so with the 07...it just all runs together - in a downward fashion from the tank to under the seat.
 
None of this is helped my cause, lol.
 
I've done the most I can to create a nose down, tail up visual style as far as aesthetics are concerned.  I've extended the graphic lines on the tank to the side of the headlight, creating more of a downward motion to the front wheel.  And the graphics for the most part, are at that same angle as well.  I even went as far as to make a decal for the frame sliders with that same angle.  The fact that I chose the YamaLube logo with the lines underneath it for that decal wasn't by accident, since the lines are at an upward angle like the sliders themselves.
 
I know that was an extremely long answer/explanation to you question, but I just wanted you to know there's ALWAYS a method to my madness, lol.
 

 
- Paulie
 
 
 
 
 
 

[cfzd]

No I think that was a great explanation lol. I a function over form type of guy, so the fact that it looks badass as a side effect from performance gains makes it even better in my opinion (in reference to rear shock/tire ) I love the way it looks like the tail is just kicked up like that.

[gregjet]

pgeldz,
I only just read your last track writeup. I suspect that you have the gift. An Tuono rider would have to be pretty aweful to have an ordinary rider anywhere near him on a track. Hope you are getting closer to the apex compared to the earlier video. To pull times THAT much better than a considered "good" time is actually something.
I have had a few thoughts bought on by an above post and one about chains and sprockets.
I know you went to 520 chain. For the track (only) a seal-less chain like the DID 520mx or ert2 weigh even less and have no internal friction from the seals. Also allow you to run chainlube in the pins rather than high viscosity grease. If you use the bike for street and track put the race chain on for the track and swap it back to sealed chain for the street. There is nothing wrong wiht clip links. Takes minutes and makes sure you look after your chains.
The belly pan. The reason ( I don't know if you know this and you may , but jic) the fairing/bellypan is run up close to the front tyre is to reduce drag from behind the front tyre from vortex shedding. The idea is to make the airflow move out and around the bottom of the bike rather than form vortices. Makes pretty much no difference at normal speeds but it is considerable once you start moving fast. You can also use the front of it to control flow to the radiator. The bottom of the fairing/bellypan if it has any flatness on the bottom, should slope UPWARDS as it goes back ( ie closer to the ground at the front than the back). Get it as close to the rear tyre as possible to remove drag from the tyre as much as possible. This not only reduces drag, but also helps with some downforce at high speed on the straights. Helps keep the front solid and reduces the amount of dive as you brake for the first corner. Again why visually race bikes look raked. A side benefit of taking it all the way back is if the class rules have a oil spill capacity defined you can make the internal dam much shallower. Also the furthur back you take it the more air extraction and associated heat will occur.
Geeeez I miss racing

[pgeldz]

@gregjet, thanks for the great info my friend! I know the bellypan close to the front tire was for aero, etc, but do you know at what speeds the benefits occur? I ask because with my bike, were talking like 110mph tops at the tracks I've been at. I'm sure the effects of proper bodywork, aero, etc would be seen at literbike levels of speed, but will I see the benefits at MY speeds?
 
As for keeping my apexes closer, the video with me chasing the R6 wasn't my best representation of that as we know, lol. I've been working on it though, as well as my body positioning, and I appreciate your comments and input.
 
I've decided to do one or two more track days on the Pirelli street tires to use them up and get back into the groove of riding, and then make the switch to race rubber for the rest of the season. A slipper clutch might be in order also, but I really want to continue to learn the *analog* way. Maybe I'll do the slipper when I make the switch to race rubber. We'll see
 
- Paulie
 
 

[gregjet]

Aerodynamic effects start becoming greater than rolling resistance roughly around 30mph. They climb exponentially from there. Remember the limit on top speed is primarily air resistance on any motorcycle. Anything that on balance decreases the Cx and skin friction will increase your top speed and power required to get there. Don't know if it is of as much use to you because I raced in the tropics , but getting the belly pan to act as a bernoulli extractor can considerably reduce the air temp at the rider and into the airbox on the MT07 ( if nothing else done to get cooler air to the airbox inlet). It will draw the hot air out quite well and has the side benefit of helping to keep the tyre at temperature. You have to watch oil and grease splatter though. Because you have pretty much the same frontal area as the sports bikes but less HP , the aero effects are MORE important to you.
I love slippers on a race track. And riding in the wet if you have set up your brakes properly in astounding. You will wonder how you rode without. Race rubber I found doesn't necessarily increase your speed, though it usually does. It does make you feel more planted leaned over once it is a working temp. Much less tiring to ride fast. You will probably find your race lines can be more abrupt ( ie things like wide in and dive through with a much squarer line). Usually can get on the power much earlier before the apex often. EXCEPT for slicks in the wet which are....er.....Well you could need a good enzyme washing powder to clean you leathers liner...
Shortest line that doesn't waste power always going to be the fastest. If you can get a small capacity ( and I mean SMALL 125-250cc) good handling bike to chuck around the track against others, your lines will improve very quickly. They teach you to maintain speed at all costs ( as well as being stupidly fun to ride as you can run them flat out all the time). You can't just open the throttle to get more power, cause there isn't any. It all about perfect lines.

[darrooh]

On the barends for the woodcraft, how did you get them out to replace? When I tried the pliers just dug in, scratched then slid off.

[pgeldz]

On the barends for the woodcraft, how did you get them out to replace? When I tried the pliers just dug in, scratched then slid off.

Brute force   
They were in there pretty tight.  Vice grips and a towel
 
- Paulie

[gregjet]

" Brute force
 
They were in there pretty tight. Vice grips and a towel
 
- Paulie"
 
Don't you just love finesse and tenderness...
 
 

[Mr.Puss]

@pgeldz, my Driven tt rearsets arrived and I realized no folding foot pegs. Having a hell of time finding a compatible folding foot peg for an m10 hole. Are you using the stock or did you happen to find folding pegs?
 
Thanks Paulie.